It doesn’t seem like that long ago that craft breweries around the world were buzzing with business. Taprooms were crowded with locals and tourists alike, enjoying the great flavours – and great company.
Now – these exceptional businesses have been dealt a heavy blow by the COVID19 crisis, with the temporary shutdown of bars and restaurant dining rooms.
Despite these challenges – we have some awesome clients who have been hard at work innovating and and adapting, to get their business through this difficult time.
We’ve done some research and put together some ideas, so you can see how breweries are adapting in COVID19.
1. Brewers making hand sanitizer - and protecting frontline medical staff!
It’s hard to believe, but some distillers and breweries have halted their spirits and beer production, to focus on producing hand sanitiser for frontline medical staff.
If you’ve entered a supermarket lately, you will no doubt have noticed the shortage of this hot commodity. This shortage has extended into the medical industry, with PPE and sanitizer becoming scarce, even for those battling this thing in the hospitals.
Ordinary brewing heroes like Urban Alley Brewery in Melbourne and Elias Wicked Ales and Spirits in Manila have been working with state governments, to address this serious issue and ensure hospitals are serviced during this critical time.
2. Delivering direct to customers
Breweries with canning or bottling lines have gone into overdrive to promote their liquid gold via take away.
Southern Roots Brewing Company are nailing this – with to go orders, drive thru pickups and delivery options – you name it, they have a way to get it to you. They are also putting together weekend milk runs for delivery orders. Clients put their orders in by Friday evening and they will prepare, cook, and deliver the orders on Saturday following a route to adjacent areas around the brewpub.
Bentspoke Brewing Co are even selling growler fills, so you can enjoy a frothy one from the tap!
And then there is the food! Beer and pizza – is there a better combo known to man? Many venues are promoting combo deals, to increase value for money and keep their restaurant cooking.
Devils Elbow Brewery are offering takeaway options and working with local bottle shops to have their beer stocked. They have also fine tuned the art of creating seductive pictures that feature both food and beer – with ploughman’s platters and full racks of ribs, pictured next to ice cold cans.
Just a little reminder there is still true beauty in this world.
3. Collaboration and partnerships
We are loving seeing breweries band together and support each other.
Venues around the world are teaming up to plan and promote joint events – and even brews! – to hype up their return to normalcy when this COVID situation is behind us.
It gives their loyal customers something to put in their calendars – and it helps increase their visibility.
Many breweries are also aligning with distribution partners, to expand their business – particularly in the online space.
4. Get brainstorming
If you’re experiencing a downturn in business, now is not the time to sit on your hands.
Now is the time to plan!
We know Devils Elbow Brewery have been hard at work looking into how they can become a better brewery through increased business efficiencies – and planning production and systems, in preparation for when they reopen.
This means they can avoid having no stock when everyone wants to get out and about back at their local.
You can also use this time to think up new products, new event ideas – and new recipes!
5. Keeping the lines of communication open
It’s really important now, more than ever, to keep your brand visible and your audience engaged.
There are so many great ways to do this and we are seeing some really fun stuff from some of our clients.
Bentspoke Brewing Co brewers are hosting live Facebook and Instagram sessions to connect with other brewers and beer enthusiasts about the brewing process. Each talk has a topic, this month we saw one on all things barrel aged, blending and bacteria.
Jetty Road Brewery’s head brewer has managed to bring brewing to our bedrooms with their very first ever virtual brewery tour!
While Capital Brewing Co are hosting live Q&A sessions with their facebook followers, called Beers with Brewers, where their team sit down (in a socially distanced fashion) with a cold one in their hand and chat all things beer. Check out their page and watch the one where they explore their new Enigma Wet Hop IPA!
These sorts of things keep you front of mind – and can actually help grow your audience, meaning you may even have some new followers for the future!
Keep up the good fight
We all know, it’s a stressful time to be a business owner – let alone one operating in the hospitality industry.
But we have some pretty fantastic tools at our disposal these days, to not only sell products online but also stay connected to each other.
So if you’re feeling a bit lost – check out what others in the industry are doing, explore partnership options available and get back to doing what you love – making great beer.
